Chapter 16: The Room With No Locks

Bianca sat curled on the velvet settee of the guest room, arms wrapped around her knees like armor. Her body trembled—not from fear, but fury. Fury that she had once called him safe. That she had once traced his jawline and whispered I love you like a fool. Like prey whispering to the hunter.

She'd locked the door. Bolted it. Pushed a chair beneath the handle like they do in movies.

But Nico didn't need keys.

He needed time.

And she knew it.

The silence outside the door was more terrifying than footsteps. At least footsteps meant you could count how close death was getting.

Then came a sound—a soft scrape. Not at the door. Behind her.

Bianca turned slowly. The wall. No—something behind the wall.

A square outline. Too perfect.

She stood, bare feet on the cold marble. She moved toward it instinctively.

That's when it clicked—literally. The panel popped open with a hiss, revealing a hidden passage behind the wall. A dim hallway with flickering lights and black marble floors. The air was damp. Moldy.

Her blood ran cold.

He built the house with secret doors?

Of course he did.

Before she could retreat, a voice echoed through the hallway. Calm. Velvet. Deadly.

"Bianca."

She backed up. "Stay away from me, Nico."

"Too late," he said. "You're already inside the spider's web."

He stepped into the light, dressed in all black. Turtleneck. Gloves. No weapon in sight—but he didn't need one. His presence was the weapon.

"Why do you have secret doors?"

"Every man with secrets needs an escape route." He stepped forward. "Or an entrance to someone else's prison."

She swallowed. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"I'm not asking."

She lunged for the door. The chair flew. The bolt turned.

Locked.

From the outside.

She turned toward him, breathless, furious. "You locked me in?"

He smiled.

"You locked yourself in when you married me."

With one swift motion, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out.

A red silk blindfold.

Bianca's eyes widened. "No."

He didn't move. Just held it up, like an offer.

"You're scared of the dark, aren't you?"

Her breath hitched. "What are you talking about?"

He stepped closer. "Everyone has a trigger. Yours? Abandonment. Nightmares. Silence."

"You don't know me."

He leaned in, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I know the sound you made the night your parents left you. I know the way you scream in your sleep when you're alone."

"How do you—"

"I read your journal, Bianca."

She gasped, backing up as if the words themselves had slapped her. "You broke into my personal—"

"You live in my house. You have no personal."

She raised her hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist mid-air, eyes wild.

"No more pretending."

She shook her head. "You're insane."

He smiled wide. "That's exactly what the last girl said."

Bianca froze.

"What?"

He let her wrist go. Walked toward the hallway.

"She didn't last long. Too soft. Too obedient."

"You—what did you do to her?"

He didn't answer. Just stopped at the edge of the hidden hallway and looked back.

"She's not here anymore."

And then he vanished into the shadows, leaving the door open.

Bianca's heart was thundering. A hallway that led somewhere. Or nowhere. The scent of damp stone and secrets pulling at her lungs.

But she knew one thing now.

This wasn't just a house.

It was a trap.

And Nico wasn't just playing with her emotions anymore.

He was playing with her mind.

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